Garden umbrella

ABSTRACT

A garden or beach umbrella including a supporting stick having a first and second portion, with the second portion hinged to the first portion for pivotal movement from its linear alignment with the first portion to a tilted position. A crown-stick portion is slidably mounted relative to the second portion and the crown is fixed to the crown-stick portion. Dome ribs are hinged to the crown and to struts which in turn are hinged to the second stick portion. Leverage means are provided on the first stick portion and connecting means are provided between the crown and the leverage means. The hinge connection between the first and second portions include a pivot means having a pivot axis extending transversely of the stick; and the crown-stick portion includes a member having a transverse pivot axis parallel and adjacent the axis of the hinge connection of the first and second stick portions. The connecting means are pivotally connected to said member and to the leverage means so that the connecting means remains substantially in the same plane whether the second section is aligned or tilted.

United States Patent [19] Weber et al.

[ Nov. 26, 1974 GARDEN UMBRELLA [75] Inventors: Heinz Weber, Hilden; Klaus Thur,

Solingen, both of Germany [7 3] Assignee: Telesco Brophey Limited, Montreal,

Quebec, Canada [22] Filed: Jan. 18, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 324,802

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 29, 1972 Germany 2204217 52 us. c1 135/20 M [51] Int. Cl A45b 17/00 [58] Field of Search 135/20 R, 20 A, 20 M, 46

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,721,569 10/1955 Militano 135/20 M 3,744,503 7/1973 Wolff 135/20 M Primary ExaminerJ. Karl Bell Attorney, Agent, or FirmRobert E. Mitchell; Alan Swabey 57 ABSTRACT A garden or beach umbrella including a supporting stick having a first and second portion, with the second portion hinged to the first portion for pivotal movement from its linear alignment with the first portion to a tilted position. A crown-stick portion is'slidably mounted relative to the second portion and the crown is fixed to the crown-stick portion. Dome ribs are hinged to the crown and to struts which in turn are hinged to the second stick portion. Leverage means are provided on the first stick portion and connecting means are provided between the crown and the leverage means. The hinge connection between the first and second portions include a pivot means having a pivot axis extending transversely of the stick; and the crown-stick portion includes a member having a transverse pivot axis parallel and adjacent the axis of the hinge connection of the first and Second stick portions. The connecting means are pivotally connected to said member and to the leverage means so that the connecting means remains substantially in the same plane whether the second section is aligned or tilted.

4 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PAIENIEL NOV26i974 1850,18 sum 1 or 4 GARDEN UMBRELLA BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 1. Field of Invention The present invention relates to an umbrella and particularly to a garden or beach umbrella having a selfsupporting base and upstanding supporting stick sections.

2. Description of Prior Art Reference is made to United States application Ser. No. 189,149, filed Oct. 14, 1971 issued as US. Pat. No. 3,744,503 on July 10, 1973.

In the above-mentioned application, the umbrella includes a supporting stick section having a joint to permit the top portion thereof to be tilted. The umbrella also has means for opening and closing it, that is, the crown is fixed to a stick portion which slides within the top portion of the supporting stick. The dome ribs are hinged to the crown and to struts hinged to a fixed annular ring on the top portion of the stick. A cable is attached to the crown-stick section and to an actuating lever on a lower portion of the stick. If the cable is passed through the stick, it will be slack when the top section of the stick is tilted. Therefore, as shown in the above-mentioned application, the cable is passed outside the stick and means are provided to retain tension in the cable when the stick is tilted.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION For obvious reasons, it is considered more convenient to have the cable within the stick and it is an aim of the present invention to provide a garden or beach umbrella with a top stick portion which is adapted to be tilted and having the actuating cable within the stick.

A construction in accordance with the present invention includes a support stick having a first and second portion with the second portion hinged to the first portion for pivotal movement from its linear alignment with the first portion to a tilted position. A crown-stick portion is slidably mounted relative to the second portion and a crown is fixed to the crown-stick portion. Dome ribs are hinged to the crown and to struts which in turn are hinged to the second stick portion. Leverage means are provided on the first stick portion and connecting means are provided between the crownand the leverage means. The hinge connection between thefirst and second portions include a pivot means having a pivot axis extending transversely of the stick; and the crown-stick portion includes a member having a transverse pivoting axis parallel and adjacent the axis of the hinge connection of the first and second stick portions. The connecting means are pivotally connected to said member and to the leverage means so that the connecting means remains substantially in the same plane whether the second portion is aligned or tilted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration, preferred embodiments thereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an opened umbrella in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal cross section of the sliding sleeve detail of the umbrella shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary cross section of the detail shown in FIG.- 2, but in a different position;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross section taken along lines IVIV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of'a detail of the umbrella;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an adjustable stick, lock-lever detail of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a transverse cross section taken along lines VII-VII of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a detailed part shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation of the lever assembly detail shown in FIG. 1, partly in cross section;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the detail shown in FIG. 9, but taken from a different angle; and

1 FIG. 11 is a transverse cross section taken along lines XI-XI of FIG. 10.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A garden umbrella is shown in FIG. 1 which includes an upstanding stick 1 having a stick member 2 slidably mounted in support stick member 4 which in turn is fixed to the base 5. Stick 1 also includes a second member 3 which is hinged as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 to stick member 2.

A crown 12 which includes a depending sliding or carrier member 14 is mounted on the stick with the sliding member slidably fitted within the stick member 3. Dome ribs 11 are hinged to the crown 12 and are supported by strut members 10 which are hinged to an annular ring 9 fixed to the member 3.

To each dome rib 11, a dome rib extension 13 is provided which can be removed from a seat in the dome rib 11 when necessary.

The section 14, which is initially of circular cross section, is expanded to a square cross section fitting the square internal cross section of the stick member 3. Only a relatively short length near the end of the member 14 need be formed having a square cross section. The bottom end of section 14 includes an inwardly bent portion 21 having an opening 20 defining a transversely extending member over which a loop 17 formed from the cable 16 is passed. Crimping means 18 are provided to fasten the cable 16 and form the loop 17. A hinge 15 between the sticks 2 and 3 includes a pair of upstanding projections 27 offset inwardly from the walls C and D of the square cross-sectional stick member 2. The offset formed at K (FIG. 4) is at least equal to the thickness D of the wall of umbrella stick member 3 which accommodates the section 14. The projections 27 are rounded off at their ends and are bored at 27' to accommodate a hinge pin 26. Corresponding holes are provided in wall sections Cl and D1 of umbrella stick member 3. These holes are flared towards the outside so that the ends of the hinge pin 26 can be countersunk and riveted and will, therefore, not project beyond the width of the stick member. A sleeve 29, which is shaped to conform to the anatomy of the hand, may thus be slid, unimpeded, over the hinge 15 to lock the umbrella stick in the aligned upright position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, hinge pin 26 is offset by an amount Z from the center line.Y-Y of the stick, particularly walls C and D in a direction away from the tilting side of the stick. This is formed so'as to provide a larger angle of tilt for umbrella stick member 3 and to provide more space for the pivoting connection between the projection 21 on the cable 16. The amount of tilt is limited to one side of the stick because the edge 30 of the stick member 3 abuts directly on the top edge 28 of the wall b of the stick member 2, while the edge 30 of the opposing wall of stick member 3 is partly cut away and therefore clears the upper edge of the wall a of the stick member 2. The angle of tilt of the stick member 3 is limited by surfaces 31 (FIG. 5) at the bottom of the projections 27, which engage the edge 30 of the stick member 3.

The sliding sleeve 29 is limited in its downward movement by a boss 33 provided on the outside of the stick 2.

The position of the member formed 14 from which projection 21 is and to which the cable 16 is hinged is as close as possible to the hinge axis of the shaft 26 so as to limit the loss of tension and permit substantially linear force transmittal when the umbrella is being tilted. It is noted that the cable 16 barely changes the plane in which it is adapted to slide since the transverse axis by which the cable 16 is hinged is parallel to and very close to the axis of the shaft 26. As a matter of fact, the tension is slightly increased as the umbrella stick member 3 is tilted.

The lower end of the cable 16 which includes the loop 17 held by crimping sleeve 18 passes about a shaft 22 and the cable 16 exits from the stick member 2 through an opening 25 (FIG.

Referring to FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, the shaft 22 is shown as extending between legs 19' of a lever assembly 19. The lever 19 includes stub shaft projections 24 which engage apertures in a clamp fixed on the stick member 2. The common axis of the projections 24 is spaced from the stick member so as to provide a dead-center or toggle feature to the leverage handle. As can be seen, as the handle 19 is rotated downwardly, the cable 16 will be forced to pass through the dead-center alignment as it passes the axis of the projections 24 and will thereby lock with the handle in a downward position.

In operation, when it is desired to open the umbrella, the handle 19 is rotated clockwise downwardly, thereby pulling the cable 16 in a downward direction which in turn with the projection 21 fixed to the member 14 pulls the crown l2 downwardly and since the struts 10 are pivoted about fixed hinge points at the runner 9, the dome ribs 1 1 will be forced to pivot about their hinge pins with the struts 10 so that the portions of the umbrella dome ribs 11 outside the struts 10 will move upwardly or outwardly.

When it is necessary to tilt the umbrella with the umbrella in an open position, the sleeve 29 is moved upwardly clearing the hinge area 15 allowing the stick member 3 to be tilted to an angle shown in FIG. 3. Because of the arrangement between the cable 16 and the projection 21 as described above, the tension will remain the same or be increased as the umbrella is tilted.

Finally, referring to FIGS. 6 through 8, a lock mechanism is shown for locking the stick member 2 of the stick 1 to the supporting member 4. Supporting member 4 mounts a sleeve 8 which in turn holds an annular sleeve 6 with an inner square cross section bore in which slits 32 are provided at each corner of the bore to allow for expansion and contraction of the sleeve. A cam-type handle 7 having an enlarged cam portion 7 is provided on the sleeve 8 which when operated, as shown in FIG. 6, will contact and compress the sleeve 6 to thereby lock the stick member 2 in position. As the handle is moved clockwise, the sleeve 6 will be allowed to expand to its normal position, allowing the stick member 2 to slide.

We claim:

1. In a tiltable garden umbrella including a support stick having linearly alignable first and second tubular members with the second member hinged to the first member for pivotal movement from linear alignment with the first member to a tilted position; the improvement comprising a crown carrier member slidably mounted for relative movement within the second member; a crown fixed to the crown carrier member; dome ribs hinged to the crown and to struts which in turn are hinged to the second stick member; leverage means provided on the first stick member; tension connecting means provided between the crown carrier member and the leverage means disposed within the first member; hinge connection means between the first and second members having an axis extending tranversely of the stick; the crown carrier member including a pivot member having a transverse axis parallel and substantially adjacent the axis of the hinge connection means of the first and second stick member; the tension connecting means being pivotally connected to said pivot member of the crown carrier member and to the leverage means whereby the connecting means remains substantially in the same plane within the first member at the pivot member whether the second member is aligned or in a tilted position.

2. An umbrella as defined in claim 1 wherein the second stick member has a square inner bore cross section and at least the end portion of the crown carrier member is of square cross section adapted to the inner shape of the second member.

3. An umbrella as defined in claim 1 wherein a pair of upwardly extending flat leaves are provided on the end of the first stick member such that the outside dimension of the parallel leaves conforms to the inner dimension of the inner bore of the second stick member, and a pivot pin engaging opposed walls of the second stick member passes through apertures in the upstanding leaves to provide the hinge connection.

4. An umbrella as defined in claim 1, in which said hinge connection means comprises an inward projection on said carrier member extending toward said pivot means and disposed immediately adjacent thereto whereby the respective pivot axes of the first and second members and the carrier member and tension connecting means are spaced but in close relation within said second member and tension forces are substantially maintained within the first and second members regardless of the tilted relation of the first and second members and the dome ribs are raised or lowered. 

1. In a tiltable garden umbrella including a support stick having linearly-alignable first and second tubular members with the second member hinged to the first member for pivotal movement from linear alignment with the first member to a tilted position; the improvement comprising a crown-carrier member slidably mounted for relative movement within the second member; a crown fixed to the crown-carrier member; dome ribs hinged to the crown and to struts which in turn are hinged to the second stick member; leverage means provided on the first stick member; tension connecting means provided between the crown carrier member and the leverage means disposed within the first member; hinge connection means between the first and second members having an axis extending tranversely of the stick; the crown carrier member including a pivot member having a transverse axis parallel and substantially adjacent the axis of the hinge connection means of the first and second stick member; the tension connecting means being pivotally connected to said pivot member of the crown carrier member and to the leverage means whereby the connecting means remains substantially in the same plane within the first member at the pivot member whether the second member is aligned or in a tilted position.
 2. An umbrella as defined in claim 1 wherein the second stick member has a square inner bore cross section and at least the end portion of the crown carrier member is of square cross section adapted to the inner shape of the second member.
 3. An umbrella as defined in claim 1 wherein a pair of upwardly extending flat leaves are provided on the end of the first stick member such that the outside dimension of the parallel leaves conforms to the inner dimension of the inner bore of the second stick member, and a pivot pin engaging opposed walls of the second stick member passes through apertures in the upstanding leaves to provide the hinge connection.
 4. An umbrella as defined in claim 1, in which said hinge connection means comprises an inward projection on said carrier member extending toward said pivot means and disposed immediately adjacent thereto whereby the respective pivot axes of the first and second members and the carrier member and tension connecting means are spaced but in close relation within said second member and tension forces are substantially maintained within the first and second members regardless of the tilted relation of the first and second members and the dome ribs are raised or lowered. 